Update: I was unfortunately not aware of Shamus Young's severe criticism of Fallout 3 available here to link in the original piece and I regret that. It dovetails rather nicely with what I've written and it's much better executed than my piece. I strongly recommend anyone...

Let's talk about the relationships between characters in our favorite games. Applaud the interesting ones, highlight the creepy ones. You can even use pop psychology to break down which relationships are healthy or unhealthy, if you'd like.

The relationships don't have to be male- female or even human-human. And they don't have to be romantic either.

My first two aren't necessarily romances in the usual sense, and I think the first game really influenced the second.

Ico and Yorda (ICO)

Someone who has played this game more recently than me might have a better bead on this one, but I just remember loving this pairing. Ico gets abandoned into this horrible situation but he puts everything into saving this (older, taller, cursed) princess, because that's what heroes do.

It leads to one of the greatest moments in gaming ever, when the player has to leap across the widening bridge to get back to Yorda, knowing that the jump is too far.

Monkey and Trip (Enslaved: Odyssey to the West)

I've mentioned before that this is one of my favorite games, and the relationship between the two leads is a big reason why.

The way the characters' relationship and attitudes blend so perfectly into gameplay mechanics is absolute genius. Leave Trip exposed to draw fire and you better haul ass flanking the enemies, because Monkey doesn't want Trip to get hurt. Trip can hop into Monkey's back at any time, which is tender and sweet but also serves the gameplay by bringing your characters together instead of what might otherwise feel like an escort mission. By the end, I think the player and Monkey have both forgotten that this relationship all started with Trip enslaving Monkey with the headpiece.

Even though throughout most of the Pokemon games you get little-to-no actual interaction with your Pokemon, the bond you feel between you and your gifted best friend is undeniable. They're the ones you take with you on your entire journey, and the ones you train hard enough to conquer the Elite Four by themselves.

Chelle and GLaDOS

Likely inspired by System Shock 2, the awkward, yet somehow heartwarming relationship these two form over the course of Portal 1 & 2 is quite poetic. Kinda makes you think about Fry and Bender, too.

Jak and Daxter

"Bromance" doesn't even begin to describe it. It doesn't matter what's going on, these guys stick together. Even when Jak is in pure rage form, he won't hurt Daxter. Daxter has risked his life over and over again to help Jak, and has even given up his divine heritage to keep hanging out with him. Name one pairing more devoted to friendship than this, I dare you.

While Ace Combat 5 had wingmen, the game did a great job of making you feel connected to Pixy, since he reacts differently to you depending on how you're playing and is, well, pretty encouraging to you. You really start to feel a bond with him, which makes the ending all that much worse.

Except for the actual ending cinematic, which is what really drives the whole thing home.

Johnny and River (To the Moon)

I know this is meant to be a love story but... I'm sorry, I have something in my eye...

Mayor McCheese and Yumi (Persona 4)

Okay, I admit, I just love that you can do this shit._________________

I agree. The walking dead made me feel real connection with characters that weren't real. I had so many feels I had to have de-ting comfort me._________________“I do like metaphorical heroin and my heroin dealer. EA”

Man, you guys have already brought up so much. There are so many points in Enslaved where the walls come down between the two protagonists and you start to see them say real things to one another. The relationship there grows into something believable and the next thing you know...you're done and wondering why the ga,e had to end.

Walking Dead is another great game built around relationships. The scenes where you slowly go from Clementine's protector to her father figure are gradual and nothing feels forced or rushed.

For me though, I automatically thought of one relationship. John Marston and his first awesome horse. I remember getting my first 5 star horse and that was it. No more buying or stealing horses. That was my horse. That was Windjammer and we rode the open plains as one. I would get angry when some shaggy beast made its way to me. "You're not windjammer." It was stupid, but that to me was one of those little signs of a great game. That moment when I started doing things a certain way because...that's the type of person this character is.

Next up, is the relationship between Otacon and Snake. Over 3 games, you see them go from haphazardly paired allies to a real team. They care about one another they're friends and even though they come from two different worlds they respect and depend on one another. Even more impact foul, if you were to die this instant, would anyone yell your name as heart break fly as Otacon yells Snake! Snake? Snaaaaaaaaaaake!!!_________________It's okay to just have fun sometimes.

My first play through of skyrim I had a huge connection with my first horse I bought. I was so sad the day he broke his legs and died falling down a mountain. _________________“I do like metaphorical heroin and my heroin dealer. EA”

Ahh the horse in RDR. I was close to restarting when I was collecting flowers the silly thing wandered off to the train tracks and of course she died. Heartbreaking, but game goes on and new bonds are made.

It was even more painful in Undead Nightmare where they only gave undead horses as return. Many innocent civilians were chased for their real horse.

All the games where you command somekind of a party or squad where the members have names or you can name. Losing one is always awful and it's funny how I usually choose a favorite from the bunch and he/she/it seems better than the rest of the group even if there wouldn't be any difference.

What started out as a potential gf situation turns into a father/daughter one!
The second time you play through it feels a little different, and I quite enjoy that.
Either way, you're massively attached to Elizabeth and I enjoyed the progressive connection towards her throughout the game._________________

And an example of an unhealthy relationship would be James and his wife Mary from Silent Hill 2.
SPOILERS

He ends up killing his wife and travels to Silent Hill under the dellusion he can bring her back. But he can't, and all he gets when he arrives is a manifestation from his guilty subconscious: A dude with a triangle on his head and a big fucking knife murdering a sexy and fflirtatious version of his dead wife who also isn't real. And depending on your ending James even kills himself when he figures it out because he's unable to deal with what he did. Or his denial forces him to believe the new girl is real and he leaves with her continuing the psychological nightmare as Tyler Durden.